The latest issue of EIA's "Electric Power Monthly" (with data through December 31, 2019) reveals that solar and wind both showed continued, strong growth, expanding faster than all other energy sources.

Solar, including small-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, grew 14.9 percent compared to 2018 and accounted for almost 2.6 percent of total electrical output. Small-scale solar (e.g., distributed rooftop systems) - which increased by 18.6 percent - provided nearly a third (32.7 percent) of total solar electrical generation. The growth rate of distributed solar was greater than that of any other energy source.

In addition, U.S. wind-generated electricity increased by 10.1 percent, accounting for 7.2 percent of all electricity produced.

Combined, wind and solar accounted for almost a tenth (9.8 percent) of U.S. electrical generation through the end of December. In addition, biomass provided a bit more than 1.4 percent and geothermal contributed almost 0.4 percent (with the latter reflecting 0.3 percent growth).

In total, non-hydro renewable sources (i.e., biomass, geothermal, solar, wind) accounted for 11.6 percent of total U.S. electrical production during 2019 and grew by 8.5 percent compared to 2018.

Notwithstanding a 6.4 percent decrease in hydropower's output and a 5.6% drop in that of biomass, electrical generation by the mix of all renewables, including hydropower, was 2.6% higher than a year earlier.

By comparison, nuclear-generated electricity increased by just 0.3% while that from coal plummeted by 15.7 percentt. However, much of the latter was replaced by natural gas which grew by 7.7 percent.

If present trends continue, electrical generation by the mix of renewable energy sources could overtake nuclear power in 2020 and coal in 2021.

The SUN DAY Campaign is a non-profit research and educational organization founded in 1992 to aggressively promote 100% reliance on sustainable energy technologies as cost-effective alternatives to nuclear power and fossil fuels and as a strategy for addressing climate change.